JOANNA Cherry warned the UK Government it would be interfering with devolution and the Treaty of Union if ministers seek to curtail the right to judicial review in Scotland.
In a wide-ranging speech during a debate on the rule of law, the MP took Boris Johnson’s government to task over its “unprecedented” bills and legal proposals.
As well as the Internal Market Bill – which could breach international law and undermine both the Good Friday Agreement and devolution settlement – Cherry focused on two other pieces of concerning legislation, the Overseas Operations Bill and the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill.
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The Overseas Operations Bill will end the right to bring legal cases against British soldiers for alleged offences which occurred more than five years ago. Human rights groups say the legislation will act as a “licence to torture”.
Meanwhile, Amnesty has expressed concern over the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill which they say could see MI5 agents legally authorised to commit crimes including torture and murder.
Nearly a year on from the Supreme Court ruling Johnson’s prorogation of parliament unlawful, Cherry hit out at the UK Government’s “pattern”.
She told the debate: “The UK Government is worming its way round laws and agreements it freely entered into.
“Because of his oath to respect the rule of law the Lord Chancellor is in a different class of ministers. The question is what is he going to do to honour that oath.
“In his speech on taking office he spoke of his illustrious predecessors and drew a comic veil over the less illustrious ones. The question for him is does he want to be remembered as a Thomas More or a Richard Rich?”
The SNP’s shadow justice secretary also went into detail on the UK Government’s plan to launch an inquiry into the role of judicial reviews.
She said: “In Scotland judicial review is part of our system of civil justice which is a devolved matter under the Scotland Act and therefore the preserve of the Scottish Parliament.”
Referring to Article 19 of the Treaty of Union, Cherry went on: “Legislation which sought to narrow the scope of the court’s powers and to curtail the right to judicial review could scarcely be described as ‘for the better administration of justice’.
“Accordingly, should this UK government seek to circumscribe the scope of judicial review in Scotland they would be interfering with not only the devolved powers of the Scottish Parliament but also the Treaty of Union.”
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